International Day for the Abolition of Slavery - 2 December 2020

TrustAfrica, Amnesty International and the African Network Against Discrimination on the Basis of Work, Ancestry, Slavery and Social Beliefs are jointly hosting a virtual roundtable to commemorate the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. Although slavery has been abolished in Mauritania, Mali, and Niger, some individuals and communities because of their birth or descent or ancestry continue to be discriminated as slaves. The aim of this virtual roundtable is to convene women representatives belonging to antislavery organizations to share their lived experiences in times of COVID-19 pandemic.  

Opening remarks and Moderator: Prof. Penda Mbow, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, former Minister of Culture, and Founder of ‘Mouvement citoyens’

The 2020 edition of the 8th Pan African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Taxation (PAC 2020), will be hosted by TrustAfrica and organized in collaboration with 16 co-conveners namely Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), African Union (AU), United Nations Economic Commission on Africa (UNECA), Global Alliance for Tax Justice (GATJ), African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), OXFAM, Action Aid, Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), African Minerals Development Center (AMDC), Publish What You Pay (PWYP), StopTheBleeding (STB) Consortium, Pan African Lawyers’ Union (PALU), Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD), Youth for Tax Justice Network (YTJN) and African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD). 

Due to the Covid-19 global health pandemic, this year’s edition of PAC will be a combination of in-country physical events (where possible) as well as virtual breakaway and plenary sessions held under the theme: “The Africa We Want Post COVID-19: Optimizing Domestic Resource Mobilization from the Extractive Sector for Africa’s Transformation.” 

To Register for PAC please click this link  https://airtable.com/shr9rfp5aCYxMcrM3

It is with great sadness that we learned of the unfortunate demise of Professor Iba Der Thiam (1937-2020), a renowned historian, pan-Africanist, leading scholar and a shining light of the African intellectual community.  Professor Iba Der Thiam was former Minister of National Education of Senegal (1983 to 1988) and had a stellar record of service which will remain indelible in the annals of posterity. Indeed, with his passing, Africa, and the entire scientific community has lost a great monument, a trail-blazer and an intellectual of high repute. A former member of UNESCO's scientific committee responsible for writing the History of Africa, Professor Iba Der Thiam was known for his in-depth knowledge of the continent's historical, sociological, cultural, political and economic realities. He was also known for his commitment to the defence of Africa and its dignity.

Markets are where food producers and consumers meet. They are a vital connection between our food and our planet. Markets are where food is traded and where ideas and cultures mix - but often markets do not work for producers and consumers. The climate emergency and the pandemic are highlighting that we need new approaches to the way food is processed, distributed and traded. In addition, we want to show how traditional and informal African markets are neglected and how strengthening them is a critical part of the transition to agroecology. This conference will lay out the challenges facing African markets, shape the markets we want to see in the future, and work out how to get there.

Community Immunity global initiative’s second LiveStream4Africa concert on Saturday, 17 October 2020 at 6:pm GMT was a very successful one. Renowned award-winning artists Baaba Maal, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Berita were amazing. The two comperes, DJ Boubs and Sainabou Jagne did a wonderful job to ensure that both English-speaking and French-speaking audiences were able to follow the concert and enjoy the performances. 

La Fondation Thomson Reuters, en partenariat avec TrustAfrica, recherche des journalistes parlant couramment le français basés dans toute l’Afrique pour participer à une initiative de formation intensive en ligne afin de les préparer à enquêter sur les flux financiers illicites en Afrique.

La formation, qui sera consacrée aux flux financiers illicites, aux enquêtes sur les entreprises, aux comptes et aux budgets, ainsi qu’aux techniques d’enquête, sera dispensée en ligne entre le 26 octobre 2020 et le 20 novembre 2020. Les journalistes retenus seront ensuite invités à participer à un programme de mentorat destiné à les accompagner dans la réalisation de reportages portant sur les flux financiers illicites.

STATEMENT

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We, the Parliamentarians, Human Rights Defenders and the Academia, representing around 260 million people in the world discriminated on the basis of work and descent (DWD), have gathered together from 15 countries in different continents in virtual conference on 14 September, 2020.

We thank the Permanent Mission of Germany to United Nations at New York for hosting our conference which is determined to work towards the total elimination of discrimination based on work and descent, casteism, antigypsyism, traditional and contemporary forms of slavery and other analogous forms of discrimination.

Download the Executive Summary

Grantmaking for the Kiisi Trust officially began in early 2018, after the inaugural Advisory Council gave their first grant recommendations to the Board of Trustees in December 2017. Currently, the Kiisi Trust gives out small grants of less than $10,000 in 7 thematic areas (peacebuilding, health, education/ adult literacy, youth skills development/ SME support, women’s programs, agriculture/ environmental rights, and governance/voice/ accountability). Projects are a minimum of six-months and a maximum of 12-months, depending on the project activities and objectives. Grant cycles are administered twice during the fiscal year (April – March), with a grantees’ forum conducted at the end of each grant cycle that officially signals the start of funded projects in that cycle.

Learning to live with COVID-19 while fighting its spread was part of the decisions made by TrustAfrica. One of the strategies was to organize or participate in debates and exchange of ideas through webinars.  

On Monday, September 7, 2020 TrustAfrica, in partnership with Southern Africa Trust and African Philanthropy Network and under the umbrella of Community Immunity successfully organized a roundtable discussion under the topic Pursuing Co-Operative Purpose in the Time of COVID-19 in Africa. The purpose of this webinar was to present and unpack the vision, themes and activities of the Community immunity initiative. The panelists at the webinar were Dr Ebrima Sall, Executive Director of TrustAfrica, Masego Madzwamuse, the CEO of Southern Africa Trust, and Stigmata Tenga, Executive Director of African Philanthropy Network. The webinar was moderated by our colleague, Briggs Bomba. To watch it again, click here. 

TrustAfrica is proud to be part of a civil-society funder collaborative called ZimbabweAlliance with solidarity partners that have included Wallace Global Foundation, Schooner Foundation, and Humanity United over the past 10 years. Through ZimbabweAlliance we have supported critical efforts in Zimbabwe, including support through constitutional expert Alex Magaisa to the historic Constitution development process which culminated in a new Constitution in 2013; seed funding to nascent movements which have grown into powerhouses such as Magamba Network and NAYO who are now anchor partners in Accountability Lab Zimbabwe; and most recently support to the Citizens’ Manifesto. Citizens’ Manifesto has become a vibrant convergence platform for progressive citizens, local community collectives, civil society, and activists in pursuit of a Better a Zimbabwe For All.